Giving Compass' Take:

• DNA India profiles Indian actor Akshay Kumar, who became a star in his country as well as a philanthropist, while also performing in films that highlighted social causes (such as open defecation and menstrual hygiene).

• The track of Kumar's career is an interesting one, unlike even the most socially-minded actors in Hollywood. What can we learn about the issues he's championed and the influence he's leveraged?

• Here's more information about Indian nonprofits and scaling social change.

After the larger-than-life and heroic characters in the nationalistic space, Akshay Kumar took up subjects more relevant to the common man and social movements. At first, the title may have made the movie seem like an oddity, but soon one knew that AK was inspired by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and taking up the issue of open defecation in the country with Shree Narayan Singh’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (TEPK, 2017) also starring Bhumi Pednekar. He then set on to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene and the importance of sanitary pads with R Balki’s Pad Man (2018). The flick, based on social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented the low-cost pad-making machine, had the actor doing curious things like trying a pad on screen.

Interestingly, Akshay’s movies on significant issues have been releasing around dates of national importance, such as Republic Day and Independence Day. It’s also important to note that he goes beyond just acting in socially-relevant movies. Having played a soldier in a number of films, AK has espoused the cause of the defense personnel. Other than the Bharat Ke Veer initiative, he has extended monetary help to the families of jawans (junior soldiers). Closer home, he made donations to farmers burdened with debts, adopting an entire village affected by drought. He has also contributed to Salman Khan’s charitable foundation and to the Chennai Flood Relief.

Read the full article about Indian actor Akshay Kumar by Hiren Kotwani and Manish D Mishra at DNA India.